Taliban offers a show of force at parade

Afghanistan army is taking shape

August 20, 2001|By From Tribune news services.

KABUL, Afghanistan — Fighter jets screamed overhead and hundreds of soldiers marched in a parade past war-shattered buildings as the Taliban militia marked Afghanistan's independence day Sunday with its strongest show of authority since coming to power.

Tens of thousands of Afghans turned out for the parade in the capital, Kabul. They watched as tanks and trucks carried fighters wearing turbans and wielding machine guns. A lone parachutist dropped into the middle of the crowd.

The Taliban has ruled most of this impoverished nation since 1996, imposing its strict version of Islamic rule. In the past, the militia mostly appeared in public as a ragtag corps of fighter; the parade marked the first time the regime held such a large and organized display of power.

The Taliban held a parade last year marking Afghanistan's independence from British colonial rule in 1919, but the event was so meager that few in the crowd Sunday remembered it.

In the dusty capital, where homes are still wrecked from years of warfare, multicolored lights spelling "Peace" and "God is great" were strung across an intersection. Songs -- without musical accompaniment, which is banned by the Taliban -- praised the independent spirit of Afghans.

Opposition forces, which are still battling the Taliban in the north, fired several rockets at Kabul during the parade. The rounds landed harmlessly in nearby hills.

Defense Minister Obaidullah Khan inspected an honor guard led by a goose-stepping soldier, then saluted as about 600 soldiers paraded by the grandstand. About 50 pickup trucks followed, loaded with more troops.

At least three soldiers carried U.S.-made Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. A Scud medium-range missile was displayed and fighter jets roared overhead during the ceremony.

"What we witnessed today was evidence of systems being built up. It is in its embryonic state, but in some ways they have come a long way," said Hamid Gul, a retired Pakistani general invited to the ceremony.

During the 1980s, Gul was one of the architects of the U.S.-backed Afghan resistance to the Soviet occupation.

The show of power came at a time of increased frictions between the Taliban and the West.

Two weeks ago, the Taliban arrested eight foreign relief workers, two Americans among them, and Afghan employees over allegations of trying to convert Muslims to Christianity. Authorities have refused to allow diplomats from the workers' home countries to see them or to extend the envoys' visas, which expire Tuesday. Taliban officials and the envoys plan to meet Monday.

International aid groups have threatened to withdraw if more workers are arrested.